For the 5th consecutive year, African women entrepreneurs can apply to the WIA 54 program. Launched by the Women in Africa initiative, through its endowment fund WIA Philanthropy, WIA 54 is the essential pan-African program to support and promote female entrepreneurship in Africa.

The African continent has the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs in the world. The female entrepreneurship rate in sub-Saharan Africa is 25.9% of the adult female population, which means that 1 in 4 women start or manage a business. In addition, women reinvest up to 90% of their income in education, health and food for their families and communities, compared to 40% for men. In other words, investing in businesses owned or managed by women can dramatically and sustainably transform societies.

THE WIA 54 PROGRAM

Launched in 2017, the WIA 54 program aims to encourage female entrepreneurship in Africa to support this dynamic. The Initiative aims to support 10,000 women entrepreneurs by 2030, thus expanding its support this year to 540 business projects (previous editions supported 54 projects each year).

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THE SELECTION

The selection campaign began on April 6, 2021 and will end on May 7, 2021. For one month, all African women who are disrupting the future of the continent are invited to are invited to present their companies and their pan-African ambitions to the Initiative, through WIA website: https://wia-initiative.com/fr/wia542021/

Following the receipt of applications, 540 finalist entrepreneurs will be shortlisted in 54 African countries by WIA and Roland Berger’s teams. Each application submitted will be examined according to specific criteria such as social impact rate, innovation; scalability of the business model, growth potential, and the execution capacity of the teams.

Encouraged and supported by the WIA initiative, the 540 finalist startups will benefit from an influence on the continent and internationally, a consequent networking with leaders and investors and a training bootcamp.

Then, a jury made up of patrons and representatives of WIA will meet to select the 54 winners from among the finalist entrepreneurs.

Read also:Ivory Coast-based Fintech Startup HUB2 Raises $1.8m To Fasten Growth In African Markets

The 54 winners will be invited by WIA to a second bootcamp dedicated to entrepreneurship which will allow them to strengthen their projects in a more personalized way and will also benefit from a personalized mentoring program.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Women In Africa program